About 92.5% of the word trade is still conducted through sea. If there are no sea farers half of the world will starve and freeze, but seafarers are considered as terrorists in many countries and are treated very badly and are not given due respect.
The seafarers of Mangalore face lot of difficulties on board. The primary and most important problem faced by the sea farer is piracy, the victimization of seafarers. Now piracy has become a common phenomenon and many ships and vessels have been hijacked by pirates in Somalia. The latest figures say that more than 732 cases of abduction are reported till date and the average ransom demanded by the pirates is 3.5 to 5 million US dollars. How do we tackle this problem?
One way to solve this menace is by recruiting armed guards in the ships, but once the ship is equipped with the arm guards it becomes a war ship. And also the new law doesn’t allow the ship to carry arms in the ship. Master Mariner Amar E Mascarenhas says that when there is a possibility of pirates attack, all the seafarers lock themselves in the basement of the ship until the pirates loot the ship and abscond. When the seafarers are caught by the pirates they have to undergo torture and remain starved for many days until the ship is released after a hefty payment of ransom.
Another problem faced is the criminalization of seafarers in other countries. In some small ports in a few countries and even in private terminals in the US, the crews are not allowed to go ashore and even if they are allowed, they are not allowed to buy or bring anything from ashore. Whenever the Seafarers club arranges to collect the crew from the ship in the port, the local authorities give troubles at the gate because the local transport like taxis lose business.
In an interaction programme organized by KCCI, director of Chaplaincy Mission to Seafarers Rev Canon Huw Mosford said that we will try to influence the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to find solution to the problems faced by the sea farers across the world. The organization has more than 234 centers and is expected to increase its number by 238 by opening 4 more centers in India which includes Mangalore also.
The Chaplaincy, aims at solving the problems of the seafarers and also help the depressed through counseling. Many centers are operating in a various countries which provide them with basic necessities when they are ashore. The organization and the government of the country should try their best to decrease the increasing atrocities against the seafarers.
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